I know I promised vacation photos next but since I haven’t had time to edit any – trust me, you do NOT want to see them before editing – I’m going to share a new WordPress theme I found instead!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and this Breast Cancer Awareness theme is the perfect way to spread the word and show support for the women who are struggling with breast cancer, as well as the people who love them.

I’ll bet that breast cancer has touched you in some way. Take a minute to think of your family and friends… if none of them has had breast cancer think about their family and friends. I’ll bet that someone within one of those groups has been diagnosed with breast cancer. My beloved grandma was diagnosed about eighteen months ago. A lumpectomy and intensive radiation treatments seem to have done the trick so far, thank heavens!

So spread the word! Show your love and support for the brave women struggling with breast cancer and the people who love them! Download the Breast Cancer Awareness theme during October, or all the time. It’s quick, easy and free!

Uncle Jon lived in Savannah, Georgia for over 9 years and when he moved back he brought little pieces of the South with him – like a fondness for sweet tea I don’t know what he’s thinking there… a habit of calling people Bubba, a cat called Lucy, and something called “Low Country”.

Low Country isn’t just dinner, it’s a party and the more the merrier! Invite your family and friends, have everyone bring something to toss in the pot, grab your favorite beverage, I’ll take a Margarita on the rocks! and you’ll have the easiest party you’ve ever put together.

The first thing you need is a pot – the kind used for deep frying turkeys. Uncle Jon’s secret is to rub some liquid dish soap on the bottom to make it easier to clean later. It really works too! We used pink Palmolive, but any kind will do.

Next you need some goodies to put into the pot. Of course you’ll want to use the freshest ones you can get your hands on. You’ll need about 4-5 lbs red potatoes, 4 lbs shrimp, 8-10 cobs of corn, 2-3 lbs sausage (andouille is traditional) a lemon or two, and Old Bay seasoning. Johnsonville makes a decent andouille but the best ones come from a small meat market and are well worth the extra trip. You can use less spicy sausage if you want; we use equal amounts of spicy andouille and mild sausage to keep everyone happy. Southern hillbilly tip: put the food on the hood of your car to keep it off the ground and away from the varmints… or the hungry kids.

Use your garden hose to fill the pot with water. Crank up the heat and enjoy your drink while you wait for the water to boil and get the ingredients ready.

First slice the sausage into 1-2″ slices. We slice the andouille on the diagonal and the mild sausage straight so we can tell them apart. Then shuck the corn – this is great job to keep the kids out of trouble! Some people make Low Country with frozen corn but we’d rather go without if we can’t get fresh. Frozen is just nasty. Chop the corn in halves or thirds depending on how many people you’ve got to feed. Obviously you don’t want the kids hacking the corn into pieces – let a relatively sober adult wield the knife!

Look at this adorable face! Not only does Z-Man love shucking corn, he’s a whiz at it too! He’s not so great at taking off the silk but that’s my job anyway cuz I’m totally obsessed with getting Every. Last. Piece. Off. Just a tad bit AR sometimes…

Once the water is boiling, cut the lemon in half and toss it into the water with some Old Bay. Use two lemons if you want, it’s your party.You can tie the Old Bay in cheesecloth so you won’t have random spices stuck to your food when you’re done but we like the extra seasoning so we throw it in loose.

Next toss in the red potatoes and let them cook about ten minutes. Then toss in the sausage and let it cook about five minutes. While you’re waiting take a deep whiff of the sharp spicy aroma… heavenly!

Poor Little Guy! He wants to come outside but his mama was worried he’d get too close to the fire so he’s locked inside and has to watch through the screen door. Don’t cry sweetie, we’ll feed you too!

Most Low Country recipes have you throw the corn in now, but we always save the corn for the end so it doesn’t overcook. There’s not nothing worse than a soggy water-logged cob of corn. Ugh, ga-ross!Toss in your delicious shrimpies instead – leave the shells on cuz they’re easier to peel after cooking.

Let the shrimpies cook four to five minutes, until they’re bright pink and oh-so-yummy looking. Then lift the inner cooking basket thing out of the pot and dump the goodies into a big container. Hide them from everyone until the corn is done or you’ll be eating all the corn by yourself and won’t get anything else!

Toss in the corn and cook for about four minutes. It’ll seem like forever but you can do it. Don’t go peeking at the shrimpies and stuff or everyone’ll know where you hid them.

Oh baby, doesn’t that look delicious?! Add the corn to your other goodies, take everything to the table and dig in! Be sure to have lots of napkins and some containers for the shrimp shells and corn cobs. We serve Italian bread with lots of butter on the side. Yummmmmm!

Coming next… vacation photos! I promise no long boring stories or endless photos of the Grand Canyon.

I’m so excited, only one more day of work before vacation! It’s been a couple of years since Teacher and I had vacation at the same time. It’ll be a whirlwind week, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Right after work tomorrow we’re hopping into the car and heading to Michigan. We’ll visit Teacher’s parents until Monday when we’ll come home. Then Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll spend in Northern Wisconsin, in my aunt and uncle’s log home which is on a small lake.

Thursday morning College Boy leaves for college and we plan to be home to see him off. After that I’m not sure what we’ll be doing. I hope to spend some time at the pool, if the weather is nice, and maybe hit the local zoo or amusement park. I do know we won’t be working around the house – vacation means time off and I am SO ready for it!

From Memorial Day to Labor Day every Saturday morning is Market Day in our hometown. The Farmers’ Market is one of the reasons our family looks forward to summer and we go every Saturday that we can. Most of main street is blocked off to traffic and filled with vendors and shoppers.

There are several favorite stalls we hit every week, like the tomato guy who grows heirloom, orange and yellow tomatoes in addition to luscious red ones. Although there are only a few certified organic produce farms there are many, many Hmong vendors who aren’t certified organic but use organic methods passed down for generations.

The flower vendors are always popular. Up and down the street there are bouquets of colorful flowers bobbing through the crowd. They’ve gotten expensive though – we used to get a nice big bouquet for $5 – $7 and now they’re around $20.

If you’re in the mood for more than produce you can browse for almost any kind of craft. Jewelry, paintings, glassware, wooden goods – you name it, it’s there. Some are really pretty like the jewelry above.

And some are really, really, REALLY ugly.

No matter where you go, from beginning to end and up the little side streets in the middle, the Farmer’s Market is alive with noise. Above the constant murmuring of the shoppers and vendors are musicians playing their hearts out.

This guy is there every week, right smack in the middle. He’s sings children’s songs – the ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, etc – and is pretty good. That’s his wife next to him, and sometimes their son is there, singing along.

There are student groups from the local high schools, and other local organizations – like this strings trio who played classical music. Beautiful!

Mixed in with the produce booths and artists’ stalls are food vendors – we rarely eat breakfast before going because we know we’ll find lots of yumminess there!

One of our favorite places is the Hmong eggroll tent. It’s a family-run operation, with children and grandparents making the eggrolls in the back of the tent, parents cooking them in the next parking space, and teens selling them to us. Hmong eggrolls are very different from Chinese eggrolls – instead of cabbage, “glass” noodles are the main ingredient. Inside the crispy outside the inside has a fun, springy texture.

Another of our favorite places offers chicken wings stuffed with a similar glass noodle/pork/veggie mixture as the eggrolls. Yummmmmm! Little Guy loves these too, and usually eats over half of mine.

Jo-Bear looks forward to getting a soda from Stone Cellar Brewery – a local microbrewery. Princess seems to be enjoying her hers too. In Wisconsin it’s called “pop” instead of soda – when I was a kid I didn’t know what “soda” was.

Tinner’s Tomato Flavored Links is another favorite breakfast treat. Yes, they really are tomato flavored, and boy are they good! Angel Face is in the lower left corner of the pic, debating if she wants one today or not.

Little Guy wanted some Tinners – look at his eyes beg! Z-Man passed on the Tinners and is waiting patiently for his popcorn.

Angel Face caved and gave him the last of her Tinners. In typical Little Guy fashion he ate the sausage and gave the bun back – he never eats the bun.

Right next to Tinner’s it the crab rangoon booth. We don’t get crab rangoon every week, but sometimes it hits the spot.

The donut stand always has a long line, but every week we have to get a dozen cinnamon sprinkle ones for the boys to share. Half of the fun is watching the donuts being made – the donut-making machine is right in the front of the tent so you get a good view while you’re waiting. A funnel drops batter into hot oil and little fins at the bottom of the oil push the donuts along a narrow trough filled with hot oil. About halfway through the the trough the donuts float onto a set of metal tines which flip them over so the other side can cook. At the end of the trough another set of metal tines flip the steaming donuts into a bin of sugared cinnamon. More cinnamon and sugar are sprinkled on the donuts before they’re bagged and handed over to eager customers. Yummmmm!

Finally, popcorn for Z-Man! Chloe’s Popcorn Stand has regular popcorn and kettle corn. Z-Man likes regular popcorn and Kettle corn is my favorite so we get both. The cool thing about this stand is that all the proceeds are going to Chloe’s college fund. Chloe is the one in the yellow shirt. I’m sure she’d rather sleep in on Saturday mornings, but she’s been at the Farmer’s Market every week instead for the past few years.

Barbecue pork on a stick is another one of Z-Man’s favorite snacks. Jo-Bear likes it too – Jo-Bear likes just about everything.

Ah yes, another healthy breakfast at the Farmer’s Market, LOL! No worries, the green beans, beets, raspberries, blueberries, zucchini, and other produce we bought will make up for it.

Woo hoo, we’re heading into the homestretch! Not much left to do after grouting the walls – just replace the toilet, sink and mirror, paint the walls, hang a towel bar. Oh yeah, and seal the grout to keep stains and odors out – the reason we’re doing this in the first place. OK, so maybe there’s a bit more to do than I thought, but it can’t take too long, right?

Jo-Bear and I took all the spacers out from between the tiles. Proof that I did do some of the work!

Here’s a close-up of the decorative tile. I just love it! It’s kind of “Arts and Crafts”. Not arts and crafts like we did in summer camp, but the style from the late 1880s to early 1900s. Teacher and I love Arts and Crafts style and plan to incorporate it in the whole house eventually.

This photo is deceiving – it looks like Teacher grouted the walls, but actually I did. Little Guy started giving off a horrid odor so Teacher offered to finish grouting while I took care of the toxic waste. You can see in his eyes how hard he’s worked on this project. Just another reason why I love him so much.

Woo hoo, the grouting is done!!!

Next is painting the walls. We chose a warm khaki to coordinate with the tiles. It looks pretty nasty here, but two coats did the trick.

Last but not least, a new towel bar. Isn’t it pretty? Finally, the bathroom is done! It took a little longer than we anticipated, but was well worth it, don’t you think?

Old… and New!

Next up…. the basement…